Alan Sepinwall Picks The 20 Best TV Shows Of 2017

My best-of list for 2017 doesn’t include comedies like Brooklyn Nine-Nine or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which were two of my most reliable laughs on TV this year. It doesn’t include Baskets, Rick and Morty, Catastrophe, One Mississippi, or the final season of Review, which mixed explosive humor with utter melancholy. It doesn’t include the resurgent current season of Mr. Robot, nor entertaining newbies like Sneaky Pete, Big Mouth, GLOW, Godless,The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, or She’s Gotta Have It.

Even at 20 shows, and even with recent best-of staples like The Americans, Fargo, or Veep left off because their most recent seasons weren’t up to the level of previous ones, there’s just a lot of great TV out there at the moment, and tough calls have to be made, especially when there was no real gap in quality between my sixth-place show and about 10 or 15 series that didn’t even make this list. If there’s a commonality to the TV shows I ultimately chose, it’s the way in which most of them blur the boundaries between genre to the point where those boundaries no longer seem to exist. If the question is, say, “Is this show a silly comedy or a tragic drama?,” the answer will usually be, “Yes.”

But even writing this intro and looking at the shows mentioned above, I began getting antsy about leaving them off, so before I experience decision paralysis and start pulling the list apart and trying to fit it back together, let’s dive in with what I enjoyed the most in 2017, starting with:

20. Lady Dynamite (Netflix)

In its first season, Maria Bamford’s series about her life, her career, and her ongoing struggles with bipolar disorder was already the most surreal of the current wave of autobiographical comedy-drama hybrids. Season two went even stranger and more meta, spending large chunks in a future timeline where the fictionalized Maria was starring in a version of Lady Dynamite itself for a streaming network owned by Elon Musk (which is somehow not called TeslaVision), co-starring her childhood frenemy Susan (Mo Collins), who gradually turns cyborg. And that’s maybe not even the weirdest part of the eight-episode season, which also featured Maria in the present auditioning for a “period drama improv procedural” called Apache Justice that features a coyote named Peter Coyote playing a hawk, just because, or teenage Maria discovering that her boyfriend is actually her cousin only moments before he suffers a cartoonishly horrific accident during their roller skating competition routine. But Lady Dynamite somehow manages to make Maria’s quest for happiness and mental health in all three timelines peacefully co-exist with the increasingly bizarre and self-referential humor. Time and again, scenes go to places that initially have me wondering who thought this was a good idea, only for the answer to be, “Maria Bamford. And she was right.”

More inclusive storytelling gives more people chances to see something resembling their lives on screen. But it’s also a creative good, allowing stories that should seem like utter cliches to feel brand new again, simply because the people going through them now aren’t the same ones who’ve gone through them hundreds of times before. Many of ABC’s family comedies like black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat take advantage of different POVs to tell old stories in novel ways, and the best of the bunch at the moment is Speechless. You’ve seen variations on the DiMeo clan — messy, loud, always fighting with each other even as they band together to take on the world around them — countless times before, but by centering the family’s world around oldest son JJ (Micah Fowler), who has cerebral palsy and uses an aide (Cedric Yarborough’s Kenneth) to communicate, suddenly ideas as trite as a trip to the grocery store or a childhood crush feel as if this is the first time someone’s thought of them. It can be big and broad — especially in the form of Maya DiMeo (Minnie Driver), who will bulldoze the world if it helps her kid have a more typical life — but also precise and sweet and sharply-observed. It’s a goofy family comedy, but it’s about a very specific goofy family, and that makes all the difference.

If American Vandal (which Brian Grubb reviewed for us) had simply contented itself with parodying true crime series like Serial and The Jinx, it would have been enough for its note-perfect command of the genre and its many histrionic tropes, here lovingly applied to the juvenile mystery of who spray-painted 27 penises on 27 cars in a high school faculty parking lot. But what made Vandal truly special was how it managed to take the characters investigating this puerile mystery completely seriously, so that the audience not only cared about #WhoDrewTheDicks (which the season answered, more or less), but about the fates of the characters themselves, and particularly the idiot manchild (Jimmy Tatro) at the center of all the accusations. It was somehow a great satire and a great teen drama all in one.

17. Legion (FX)

For a month or two there in the spring, this drama about an obscure character from the X-Men universe, adapted by Fargo creator Noah Hawley, seemed like it was setting new records for televised dramatic weirdness, particularly during an episode largely set inside a giant ice cube on the astral plane where Jemaine Clement recited beat poetry and danced in an off-white leisure suit. Then Twin Peaks came back with an attitude of, “That was real cute, junior, but this is what real weirdness looks like,” and memories of Legion seemed to melt away like the show itself was the ice cube. And that’s not fair to a series as stylistically audacious as this, a twisted superhero origin story that had room for musical numbers, silent movie horror homages (sold by a riveting chameleon-like supporting performance by Aubrey Plaza), tender romance (between Dan Stevens’ powerful but mentally ill David and Rachel Keller’s gregarious body-swapper Syd), and general psychedelia. The “Bolero” sequence alone probably gets it on the list:

16. Mindhunter (Netflix)

The idea of the serial killer investigator who slowly loses his mind from learning to think like the men he hunts has become so picked over that I actively dreaded the thought of watching another variation on it. But Mindhunter, after a bumpy first episode, is so effective because it’s the origin story of that cliche, going back to the ’70s to watch a pair of FBI agents (Jonathan Groff’s twitchy Holden Ford and Holt McCallanny’s stolid Bill Tench) and an academic (Anna Torv’s cagey Wendy Carr) invent the science of criminal profiling. Their horror and surprise at discovering various serial killer tropes that the genre has long since taken for granted made the whole affair feel fresh and vital, particularly in the long and shockingly matter-of-fact conversations between the FBI agents and soft-spoken giant Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton).

15. Big Little Lies (HBO)

Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Shailene Woodley led an all-star cast in this thoroughly engrossing tale of helicopter parenting gone awry, abusive marriages, and more inside a wealthy and secretive California seaside community. Director Jean-Marc Vallee’s beautiful, subjective camerawork and the performances by Witherspoon and company elevated what could have been a trashy soap into something more thoughtful emotionally complicated, and the series built beautifully to the moment in the finale when the women realized how they were truly connected. HBO is working on a sequel, but they’d be better off leaving these seven episodes alone. Some stories don’t need to continue to be great.

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I’d say it’s fair to not want to watch Louis CK’s standup anymore, since it’s him onscreen, talking about himself, and now we know what a creep he is. But if he co-wrote scripts about other characters and isn’t onscreen, I don’t see any reason not to enjoy Better Things (which is ironic since it’s one of the few shows on this list I haven’t watched).

One of the most impressive things about Legion was that it went on this weird trippy excursion for a few episodes, but then actually had an explanation for it and told us what was happening. It wasn’t just weird for weirdness’ sake, which is why I refuse to watch Twin Peaks.

The Louis CK situation is the least of my problems with “Better Things”. The obnoxious children and their ridiculous First World problems that seem to cause such histronics are at the top of my list of reasons why I just have to disagree with Alan on this show. Also, the show’s tendency to make Adlon appear to have a series of devoted friends who revere her without giving any real indication why seems pretty self-centered.

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the show’s tendency to make Adlon appear to have a series of devoted friends who revere her without giving any real indication why seems pretty self-centered.
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That’s how it works on star-vehicle star-run series, stretching back to Mary Tyler Moore. Women in that slot are REVERED by one and all, while guys (most recently Aziz Ansari, but reaching back to early Woody Allen – am I allowed to talk about him?) are sexually magnetic to hot babes. Them’s the rules.

I found season 1 unwatchable and dipped my toe into season 2 only to recoil with the same complaint: She’s a terrible terrible Mom. Louie was a mediocre Dad, but despite lacking some parental tools, he clearly tried. On this show, the Mom just seems a strange combination of lazy, apathetic, and just wanting to be the girls’ friend.

I grew angry at their “problems” and couldn’t root for them. Nor relate.

Ha! Did not expect Twin Peaks so high or on the list at all really, I thought you were rather mixed on it. I think The Americans still belongs on this list, the highs of the 5th season are still as good as anything that show has ever done. Glad that you excluded Fargo, IMO the most overrated show of the decade.
As for the number one spot, as much as I love The Leftovers, I would personally swap it with Halt and Catch Fire which mad a bigger emotional impact on me, while still being a powerful drama on top of it.

The Leftovers S1-2 were real favorites of mine. S2 was so bizarre and mystical that I wrote #GetWeird on Twitter every Sunday night during its run. S3…I guess I need to watch it again. I felt that maybe the party was over and the show was trying a bit too hard at times. I loved a few episodes, particularly Matt’s boat adventure where he lost God. I’ll try it again in a few months and hopefully feel differently.

I couldn’t agree more about The Leftovers. I am in the minority of thinking Season 1 is the best the show had…but I loved Season 2 and 3 nearly as much. And that finale….utter perfection. I was sure there was no way they’d stick the landing, but holy crap, I was a sobbing mess. Beautiful

On a side note…I don’t care what Louie did. Roman Polanski did a lot worse, and Hollywood still showers him with love

So many things wrong with this list. Especially coming from someone whose opinion I value as much as Alan’s. A list of the 20 best shows on TV that doesn’t include The Americans? Blows my mind. For anyone in their right mind to think shows like Bojack Horseman, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, or the putrid Girls is better than The Americans is mind boggling. Kudos to The Leftovers as #1 though. One of the greatest series finales ever.

As a huge Americans fan (see avatar), I have no problem with Bojack being ranked above S5 (although IMO both were way too low on Alan’s list). S% was still appointment TV for me, but something seemed to be missing as compared to earlier seasons. Bojack, though, was brilliant; its depiction of those first few tentative, halting steps on the way up from rock bottom (especially the internal monologue of this depression) was fantastic.

Agreed that it wasn’t one of its best. But it was a bridge season. It setup things for the final season very nicely. Even with the “off season” it was still worlds better than Bojack. Perhaps I’m biased against animation, but I just don’t get the praise for it. There are several shows that would’ve made the list before that. Stranger Things and Bates Motel come immediately to mind, and Mindhunter should’ve been ahead of it.

Well, be forewarned that those three spoiled brats are even worse behaved in season two; watching Adlon repeatedly giving into their narcissistic, self-centered BS, while simultaneously making herself look like the Self-Sacrificing Mom of the Year, can really grate on your nerves.

Very good list. For me the standouts were without any doubt Halt and catch Fire, Twin Peaks, The Deuce and The Leftovers. Halt would take the top spot though as the last bunch of episodes hit me emotionally on a level i haven’t experienced in quite a while.

Regarding ‘Better Things’ i sadly gotta say: Do we accept that this was great television involving one co-creator who’s been shunned for his sins, while the other one obviously turned a blind eye although the stories have been out in the open long before?

What criteria are we considered these as “Best” shows? I’m not arguing against any of them, just wondering what the criteria is (e.g. consistency across the season, acting, etc).

For the record, the show I enjoyed the most in 2017 (not stating it was the best under the criteria above) is Lethal Weapon. It’s just a fun 45mins of TV with great chemistry between the leads / supporting cast an easy premise and plenty of fun.

So many of the shows on your list, Alan, especially in the first (i.e., back/bottom) half, I either didn’t finish or never started because they’re just too emotionally fraught. With the year I’ve had, from the personal to the state of the country and the world… I can’t even, as the kids say. My threshold for cringe humor is fairly low and so is it for the melancholy, open-vein miasma of those semiautobiographical comedies (?) you mention. That also goes for critical faves Bojack Horseman and, dare I say, even The Leftovers; maybe they’re beautiful at the end but getting there is just too much of a wringer. I’m one of those who couldn’t stick with Handmaid’s Tale despite great performances and worthy message. Glad it’s out there for those loving it but s— is a little to real for me these days. Hell, I don’t even know some weeks if it’s worth subjecting myself to Full Frontal or Last Week Tonight.

I know I’m in a slim, slim minority here, but I don’t think The Leftovers is even a good show, much less the best of the year. It’s storylines are haphazardly throw together, with a ton of loose ends that never pay off. There are entire characters that just disappear (or reappear) for no reason. The show also just drops interesting storylines altogether, and instead focuses on boring stuff that becomes a slog. Decisions are made by characters that are never truly explained, and events occur randomly without explanation. It’s an awesome philosophical/symbolic reflection on life, but it does nothing to provide the satisfaction or suspense I look for in a show. Add to that the fact that much of the emotional “payoff” is forced, instead of natural or even logical, and the show comes across as Lost 2.0 to me.

I don’t mean to bag on anyone for their opinions. I just feel like it relies heavily on a gimmick that it never pays off, and it’s writing suffers as a result.